Don't connect your washer to a 1" grey water pipe

[rsser]

I did and burned out the pump motor. Half the cost of a new machine to have it replaced.

Tight connection; hose looped on the exterior of the house to defeat siphoning. One and a half summers and the pump was done for.

Sorry if this has been posted before. I did a quick search of two months of posts and didn't find anything.

Seems most washer pump motors can't handle the load.

The repair guy says he looks at all the 1" grey water diverter pipes at Bunnies and thinks each of these is worth a pump.

He had two solutions.

One, use a funnel in the laundry to feed a grey water pipe so siphoning isn't an issue.

Two, use a 2" pipe diverter.

There wasn't enough room under my laundry trough to fit a 2" DWV diverter tap (switch? petcock? dunno the terms). And not enough room to fit one under the floor with some kind of extended arm to move it from above.

So I've now fitted a 2" standing pipe in the laundry. I didn't trust a funnel to cope with the washer output.

We've got a programmable washer and have been doing the wash and spray rinse cycle through the 1" diverter into the inspection cover on the external DWV pipe; then the deep rinse with the pipe removed to fill a wheelbarrow.

Now do the same switching the washer outlet hose to a 2" pipe fitted beside the laundry trough then running under the floor and out a vent to fill a 100 l water wheelie bin from the deep rinse cycle.

Fingers crossed.

The gum in the front yard is stressed and dropping leaves like mad. The good thing about the bin is that it has a tap so we can park it to slow feed in various places around the yard.

[bugsy]

the manufacturers of these grey water pipes should be held responsible for pump repair.
They are telling us that the product should be used in this way.
While everyone is trying to do the right thing in regards to water, we are actually damaging our property

[petersemple]

Our neighbours use one of these to run a sprinkler, but they have a separate pump in the system to boost it to the required pressure for the line and sprinkler. I would guess the washing machine feeds into some sort of container which is then pumped out for the sprinkler.

Peter

[Ian Smith]

RSSR,
Yep, got caught the very same way. Seems those pumps are built to push water up and along the bit of pipe that comes with the machine and no more.
Any additional amount of back presure will kill them.
However you go about it you need an air gap between the original bit of pipe and any extra you may want that water to travel along.

Regards

Ian

[rsser]

True Ian.

Just a follow-up:

The 2" standing pipe drains fine, with the water wheelie bit down the slope outside a bit.

Said bin however ... ptui

From Bunnies. Had to do a trip back to pick up the missing outlet tap fitting nut.

Now find the axle holes leak and there's also a crack in the side of the bin that leaks.

Another trip back required. Jeez.

[DavidG]

I have a container on a stand outside the laundry window.
The washing machine hose is extended with a bit of black plastic pipe.
The container has a fitting in the bottom that a garden hose plugs onto.
The end of the hose is moved around between the trees when we remember.

Been in use for 3 to 4 years now.

[rsser]

So short run low pressure might work.

Had read somewhere that only a couple of brands of washer could cope with GW hose attached. Had hoped mine was one but no luck.

[Stuart]

That was my biggest concern when I was designing mine, so went straight to 2" I didn't want the pump doing any more work than it needed to. So far, so good. Drains to a wheely bin, that is then connected to a mains-pressure pump. Course, I need to filter heavily for the lint.

[wonderplumb]

Dump the hose that comes with the machine into a tundish with a 2" waste, no drama's. Make sure its trapped.
You will come unstuck if you simply try to extend the hose.

[rsser]

Well I took the wheelie bin back to Bunnies for replacement.

Turns out the leaking axle hole was just another crack in the body. There is no axle hole.

Had to pick over several new bins to find a complete one. Then got it home and found the handle/lid hinge was split. *!@#

Not a good design anyway. Too much weight on too small wheels. Awkward to drag around the yard.

Think I'll replace it with a large plastic tray barrow and fit a tap in the bottom for a trickle feed.